Habiba MedHave you seen lip blush or full lip color everywhere and wondered what it is, what it changes on your lips and whether it's right for you? These treatments suit light lips and dark lips alike, and the choice is mostly a matter of taste. Here's what you need to know, with real healed results.
Key takeaways
- Lip blush and full lip color: the same technique, lip blush is just softer.
- Before choosing, understand your lips: they're what point you to the right treatment.
- Full lip color or ombré: a matter of taste, for light lips and dark lips alike.
- Dark lips you want to lighten, or very wrinkled lips: full lip color.
- The final result shows once the pigment has settled: 2 months later at most.
Lip blush and full lip color: what it is
A light lip tattoo that brings back color and definition. Other names: candy lips, blush lips, BB lips, watercolor lips, velvet lips… It's all the same thing: these names are often “signatures” made up by artists, and they confuse clients.
Full lip color fills the whole lip with the same intensity. Lip blush is full lip color at a soft intensity. The other technique is ombré: a darker outline, with a lighter color toward the center. It's a semi-permanent tattoo: it fades by 80% after 3 to 4 years on average, until it disappears completely.
Understand your lips before choosing
Before choosing your treatment, you first need to understand your lips: their color, their texture, whether they're smoother or more wrinkled. That's what will point you to the treatment that flatters them most.
Full lip color and ombré suit light lips and dark lips alike: most of the time, it's a matter of taste. But some lips look better with one of the two techniques:
Key takeaway: dark lips you want to lighten need full lip color, to correct the whole lip or the areas that are too dark. Very wrinkled lips too: the ombré gradient settles into the wrinkles. For very dark lips, see our guide to dark lip neutralization.
Lip blush in numbers
What it changes, and what it doesn't do
It adds color and definition: for pale or colorless lips, or an outline that's fading. But never volume. If you want volume, you need filler from a doctor (lip blush vs lip filler).
On very pale lips, the color creates contrast: the lips finally stand out, and it looks like you have more lip.
Before you book: ask for advice
Before booking, it's a good idea to call the artist and ask for her advice. Above all, ask her for healed results on lips similar to yours:
- 💧 very taut, smooth lips;
- 💉 lips with a lot of filler;
- 〰️ very wrinkled lips;
- 🌷 mature lips.
“Always trust results on lips with the same texture as yours, not on lips that are too different.”
Habiba MedHealing and healed result: two different things
Healing
The skin changes after the tattoo: dead skin and the thin top layer come off, like an exfoliation, then new skin forms.
The healed result
It shows once the pigment has settled in the skin: 2 months later at most. That's when you can be sure of the final result.
So the final result doesn't show at the end of healing, but a little later.
To understand it better
Picture an object you drop in water: it slowly rises back to the surface. The pigment does the same thing during all those weeks, until it settles.
Healed results
For each client: the lips before, right after the session, then fully healed.
Your journey in 4 steps
Client reviews
Lip blush pros and cons
The pros
- Colored lips as soon as you wake up
- A healthy glow
- Lipstick and gloss still possible
The cons
- A few days of healing
- Color that seems to disappear
- A treatment to plan if you get cold sores
It doesn't hurt: it can seem scary, but the skin is only lightly grazed. If you often get cold sores, the tattoo can trigger one: a preventive treatment, discussed with your doctor before the appointment, takes care of it.
Contraindications
- The same as for other treatments: pregnancy and breastfeeding, isotretinoin, blood thinners, uncontrolled diabetes, chemotherapy, skin in a flare-up.
- Postpone if you have: an active cold sore outbreak, recent filler (wait 8 weeks).
- Not recommended: a tendency to keloids on the face.
- Fordyce spots aren't a contraindication: tattooing is actually one of the few ways to camouflage them.
Going further
Not happy with your result? See how to fix lip blush gone wrong. Want to learn the technique? See how to choose a lip blush course.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, a light, semi-permanent tattoo that fades over time.
It's the same technique: the lip is pigmented the same way all over. Lip blush is just softer, and full lip color bolder, like lipstick.
It's a matter of taste, for light lips and dark lips alike. Full lip color is only a must to lighten dark lips or on very wrinkled lips.
No: to correct and lighten the whole lip or the areas that are too dark, you need full lip color.
Healing is the skin renewing itself after the tattoo. The healed result is when the pigment has settled: 2 months later at most.
Right after the session, yes, a little. About 70% of the swelling goes down within 2 hours, the rest during the day. It doesn't add volume.
3 to 4 years on average, depending on the intensity and the pigments.
Yes, it's actually one of the few ways to camouflage them.
Yes, if you're on medication, have a medical condition or get recurring cold sores.
Written by
Habiba Med
Permanent makeup artist since 2019 and trainer, I share what I see every day in my studio to help you make the right choices.
